This is my first time taking a ceramics class at Mount Si High School. I ahve taken it both semesters all this year. during my first semester I
struggled alot with the ideas of centering, pulling a wall and handle, footing, glazing, etc. But slowly as time went on I began experimenting more with the clay and finally got the hang of the more complex techniques. I created good projects that got better each time I got on the wheel. I started to see that all my projects had a similar theme.

The theme I have chosen is surface design and detail. I cam about this idea when comparing my designs to projects with just one color of glaze. I found that mine seemed much more detailed in comparison but no different in quality. I thought that showing the surface designs was a good idea for my overall theme. I wanted to show that with these designs it catches the attention of many observers.

How I made my theme possible was starting with the project of simple design and then adding uniqueness with the glazes. I began with altering a bowl, cup and, plate on the wheel. Once out of the bisque I dipped everything in clear and then splattered 10 different colored glazes onto each. The multiple amount. Of colors gave the projects a similar look but not one surface design looked the exact same giving them all a unique feature. My next project was a pitcher that I created on the wheel. I took I pin tool and created sporadic designs in the clay while the wheel was spinning. After glazing it Ina dark blue you could see the engraved surface designs. Again the surface design was not a pattern but rather scattered giving the project a design of its own. Finally I created a plain bowl and plate set that had no engravings and were rather plain before glazing them. I used a clear base and then, deciding to try something different, took a deep cobalt blue stain and created splattered lines on both the plate and the bowl. The lines transformed the plain bowl and plate into two beautiful pieces of art.

I chose this theme because I found that creating different surface designs was very interesting. This theme and my projects are all representations of my experimentation throughout this whole year in ceramics Just as my projects started off a little plain so did my fear of trying different things. But as my projects grew in creativeness I grew in self confidence.

Everything I have achieved in ceramics has shown me and others an art skill that I thought was never there in the first place. I have learned that with perseverance and determination you can accomplish many things. In ceramics, you are constantly making projects that no one else would have thought could be done which gives this art skill a satisfying feeling. I have grown to love each of my projects for their designs that are unique for me. They portray a part of me in each one.My goal was to turn plain objects like plates into something more unique to make my projects stand out. I made multiple projects that tied into my theme and my goal was ultimately reached.

Rough draft

Ceramics essay
This is my first time taking a ceramics class at Mount Si High School. I ahve taken it both semesters all this year. during my first semester I
struggled alot with the ideas of centering, pulling a wall and handle, footing, glazing, etc.
The theme I have chosen is surface design and detail. I cam about this idea when comparing my designs to projects with just one color of glaze. I found that mine seemed much more detailed in comparison but no different in quality. I thought that showing the surface designs was a good idea for my overall theme. I wanted to show that with these designs it catches the attention of many observers.

How I made my theme possible was starting with the project of simple design and then adding uniqueness with the glazes. I began with altering a bowl, cup and, plate on the wheel. Once out of the bisque I dipped everything in clear and then splattered 10 different colored glazes onto each. The multiple amount. Of colors gave the projects a similar look but not one surface design looked the exact same giving them all a unique feature. My next project was a pitcher that I created on the wheel.

I chose this theme because I found that creating different surface designs was very interesting. This theme and my projects are all representations of my experimentation throughout this whole year in ceramics Just as my projects started off a little plain so did my fear of trying different things. But as my projects grew in creativeness I grew in self confidence.

Everything I have achieved in ceramics has shown me and others an art skill that I thought was never there in the first place. I have learned that with perseverance and determination you can accomplish many things. In ceramics, you are constantly making projects that no one else would have thought could be done which gives this art skill a satisfying feeling.

Ceramics theme outline-

I Theme

Surface design

-in terms of the way the projects are glazed– showing details

-the painted glazes wrap around the projects in a way that shows off the structure of the project but also adds to the overall display.

Using dark colored stains to create detailed designs with complicated but simple patterns.

II What

set of bowls and cups and slab plates with painted under-glazes

tea-pot and vases with splattered stain for decoration

Older projects with patterns both thrown and soft slab.

III How

soft slabs in Chinet bowls and platters with draped and fluid edges. These are painted with
Dark blue stain and clear glaze.
Thrown projects with throwing marks that show how the projects were pulled up. The splatter paint engulfs the entire project.

Using pulled clay in a smaller size than one would for a handle to make ribbons of clay. These are then arranged on the lid or other parts of the project, and slipped and scored on so that they become part of the piece. These must be dried carefully so that all the parts join without cracking or coming apart. After the stains are applied to emphasize the additions to the wheel projects.

IV Why

Although most wheel projects reflect the process of a moving wheel as opposed to the motion of the potters’ hands moving up I have chosen to emphasize this by changing the way I am painting on the projects. These somewhat sporadic lines of color add detail without completely taking away from the projects structure. The somewhat plan projects such as soft slabs, make an easier canvas to paint because of the variety of options to detail them with. Finally using a combination of techniques as well as splatter painting I have added to a complicated moving form – a teapot or pitcher – objects that are meant to pour liquid – what looks like a soft and moving part of the entire form.

V Conclusion

Although I have been painting on ceramic projects for a few months it is only this fall and winter that I have become aware that how the design moves around the surface will emphasize how the project was created. I also have become more interested in more complicated designs such as Egyptian patterns to add a sense of motion to projects – particularly ones like pitchers and tea-pots – these design elements seems to contrast with the simple movement of the pitcher or pots.

My theme idea is to work with surface details and design.